A planner's dream - Daybreak, Utah

Dubbed the "Largest Master Planned Community in the US". - Daybreak Community in Salt Lake City - 4126 planned acre development, over 1200 of that is public parks and open space. See sites below for more info.

Maybe I wasn't able to find enough information but so far it strikes me just as any other half-assed, "New-Urbanist" quasi-suburban development does, except larger. And, if even possible, maybe whiter.

13 000 units is a very large strain to put on the existing infrastructure all at once. My question is: How will the economy of the region cope? Are there at least 13 000 new jobs within walking/biking distance, or at least within walking distance from existing viable transit? I presume not, although unfamiliar with the region, I am not sure. The new residents will be forced to take their SUV's to work and to shop at the nearest Boxmart.

Forgive my pessimism, but I bet that most of the parks that were ‘created’ already existed in some form, and they are either being held for future development, or they cannot be built on due to radon levels or earthquake faults.http://www.co.slc.ut.us/info/maps.html

On a more positive note, I do like the idea that the homes were built using energy star guidelines and more efficient insulation. I also like the idea of mixed options for living arrangements (renting vs. buying) and the rent to own option.

Does anyone know whether the different housing sizes are separated, or if they are all mixed together?

As a planner in the area, I am very familiar with this development. It is an incredibly large area and the property owner, Kenecott Land (a subsidiary of Rio Tinto Mines) owns virtually the entire western side of Salt Lake County. They operate a copper mine which anyone who has been to the Salt Lake Valley has seen.

To understand the economics of this project, the Salt Lake Valley is expected to grow by about 200,000 people in the 30-40 years. The build out of this project is projected at 20 to 25 years and it will accomodate several thousands . When you add that many people, job growth is ineveitable (quality of those jobs is debatable). The Salt Lake Valley will have a great light rail system in place in the next 10 years (with three additional line being added) that will connect to the major employment centers in the valley. Multiple BRT lines are also on the TIP line and the first being expected to be up and running in the next 3 years. Also, a heavy rail commuter line is under construction that will provide rail service to the entire wasatch front (Ogden to Provo). So access to convenient mass transit service and job centers looks like it will be good.

The site was virtually empty prior to construction. Nothing was existing, infrastucture, parks, the lake, etc sill all be built. The neighborhoods have a mix of housing types, so multi family units are mixed with detached single family housing. All house plans are approved by an architectural review board and they have to sertain elements.

I disagree that it is starting as a half assed new urbanist quais suburban development. The business park is under construction and a strong commercial core will be started next summer. The draft EIS for the light rail spur is finished and the final EIS should be released next April. Better yet, the local mathcing funds are in place so that funding will not be as difficult to secure. This is a huge step for this area in terms of designing quality neighborhoods and recognizing that there is a better way to built suburban communities.

If you really want to see a large development, Kennecott Land is in the process of developing a Comprehensive Plan for the rest of their land on the west side of the valley. For those familiar with the area, that includes the entire mountain range on the west side (the Oquirrhs). it dwarfs daybreak.

Artificial lake... standard "rules" that have to be ticked off for a building (checklist design only leads to frankenburbs - i.e. ok slap this porch on and whoila we have revived small town america)... the very idea of the business park is telling... seems awfully like a normal suburban wasteland to me. *shrug*

Artificial lake... standard "rules" that have to be ticked off for a building (checklist design only leads to frankenburbs - i.e. ok slap this porch on and whoila we have revived small town america)... the very idea of the business park is telling... seems awfully like a normal suburban wasteland to me. *shrug*

It is more than just a checklist. They have to fit certain styles of architecture, including building materials. The garages have to be behind the house and are accessed via alleyways. There is common green areas in the middle of some blocks. Accessory apartments and offices are permitted. The lots are assigned to certain builders, so you do not have the same house repeated next to each other. The business park is about having quality jobs close to where you live, reduing the dependancy on the automobile. Would it be better if there weren't jobs near by? It clearly is not an "eden", but what is? It certainly is a move in the right direction as far as development goes, particularly in Utah where auto dependant suburbs are the norm.

ANyone?????????????

Does anyone think this could be done on a micro-scale within a city. With the city purchasing the land, until they own an entire block, clear the land and re-do the block via developers. Start with the worst blocks as far as housing conditions go. These properties would be easy to purchase with low property values.
It (new housing and possibly larger lots) increases the property values, but has the negative (or may not be negative) drawback potential to lose the lower income citizens.

It is a development (at build-out) of approx. 350 single-family homes in the Chicago neighborhood of Bridgeport. This location is about 4 miles southwest of the Loop and is built on old industrial land adjacent to Bubbly Creek (a tributary of the South Branch of the Chicago River). Although, this development was privatly done.

Does anyone know whether the different housing sizes are separated, or if they are all mixed together?

The way the community is set up is as follows: Kennecott Land sells lots to individual builders, of which there are seven. Those seven builders then sell homes to the public. Each street has a mixture of lots from some of the seven builders, thus enabling great diversity in architecture as well as a varying size level of homes on one street. That being said, they do separate out townhomes and medium density housing from others - they do this by open space or parks. It truly is a great community.

Daybreakcentral.com tries to keep tabs on news affecting the community.

I worked on the earlier stages of planning this project, back in '99 and '00, when Kennecott and Rio Tinto were internally trying to decide whether to pursue this type of development... or development at all. It's a huge change for the company... it's a mining company for goodness sake. I'm glad they are moving forward with it.

Of course, the project has positives and negatives... but for those folks who have seen the type of development going on in the Salt Lake Valley - it could be a heck of a lot worse.

Light Rail

Proposition 3 which will fund light rail and highway projects in Utah just passed during the mid-term elections. This means that the light rail extension into the Daybreak Community could be built as early as 2009-2010. This will be quite a boon for the community in terms of delivering on its new urban plan.

seems like just a modified typical suburban bedroom community

I checked the area plans on the website and I was stuck by the fact that the two maps are colour coded by builder rather than by land use or proposed use. The whole things seems to be mostly SFRs. To me that just seems to be more of the same. Maybe I missed it on the low resolution maps available on the site but where's the retail, retaurants, nightclubs?

It's easy playing the armchair planner but I'm not sure what the fuss is all about. Sure it's better than the typical cookie cutter subdivision but I don't see how this will all result in a thriving community with a life of it's own.

Ah......HUH???

Originally posted by ssnyderjr

Dubbed the "Largest Master Planned Community in the US". - Daybreak Community in Salt Lake City - 4126 planned acre development, over 1200 of that is public parks and open space. See sites below for more info.

4,126 acres seems kinda little to me......certainly after having sat through a presentation by one of the Buckeye City Planners at the recent Arizona APA conference.....take a look at the following site and pick any one of the "area" maps in Buckeye...... Remember Buckeye only has something like 30,000 people now....

“The way of acquiescence leads to moral and spiritual suicide. The way of violence leads to bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers. But, the way of non-violence leads to redemption and the creation of the beloved community.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
- See more at: http://www.thekingcenter.org/king-ph....r7W02j3S.dpuf

Daybreak is just a portion, and the first "phase" of the Wet Banch Master Plan that Kennecott is working on. The development will cover 93,000 acres and have a built out of 75 years.

The development does include a "town center' that is under construction. It will include the typical mix of retail, restaruants, office and services. This is ulta conservative Utah, noght clubs are unheard of in the suburbsIt is still in it's infantcy and only time will tell if it turns out to be just another suburb or something else.

There we go.....

Daybreak is just a portion, and the first "phase" of the Wet Banch Master Plan that Kennecott is working on. The development will cover 93,000 acres and have a built out of 75 years.

The development does include a "town center' that is under construction. It will include the typical mix of retail, restaruants, office and services. This is ulta conservative Utah, noght clubs are unheard of in the suburbsIt is still in it's infantcy and only time will tell if it turns out to be just another suburb or something else.

That's MORE like it..... What a monster development that is....still take a look at Buckeye.....If you add up all their master planned areas, it might be close to 250,000 acres ........ Not that I think teraforming on a planetary scale is a good thing..... All those D-11's might knock the earth of course.....

“The way of acquiescence leads to moral and spiritual suicide. The way of violence leads to bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers. But, the way of non-violence leads to redemption and the creation of the beloved community.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
- See more at: http://www.thekingcenter.org/king-ph....r7W02j3S.dpuf

That's MORE like it..... What a monster development that is....still take a look at Buckeye.....If you add up all their master planned areas, it might be close to 250,000 acres ........ Not that I think teraforming on a planetary scale is a good thing..... All those D-11's might knock the earth of course.....

Buckeye is impressive for the scale of their projects. Size really isn't that important. is it?

“The way of acquiescence leads to moral and spiritual suicide. The way of violence leads to bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers. But, the way of non-violence leads to redemption and the creation of the beloved community.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
- See more at: http://www.thekingcenter.org/king-ph....r7W02j3S.dpuf